Even In The Face Of Danger
by SophieMary4
Summary: Just a little one-shot that came to mind! LauraxCarmilla. Hollstein.


**Even In The Face Of Danger.**

_It hadn't taken her long to figure things out, not really. She first started to notice something was... different? When a black cat kept showing up in her dreams, and the girl with dark hair, drowning in blood, had suddenly stopped showing up. She realized that the cat had something to do with it, what she didn't quite understand yet. She had also noticed that her roommate who was normally grumpy anyway, was more so. It took her a few day's to realize that the girl, who was currently curled up in her bed, had started getting even more grumpy around the time the black cat showed up in her dreams._

_After clicking around on a few websites, she found out that some lore to do with vampires, states their ability to shape shift. With the new information, she started leaving little hints around the room that she knew what her roommate was doing. Leaving little cats toys on the bed, leaving out a saucer of milk. It didn't take long for the dark haired girl to notice these little things, to notice the way the other girl was a lot more quiet around the room, to realize that she barely got woken up by any member of the ginger group of girls just barging into the room._

_"I know what your doing, cutie." Carmilla's eyes never left the book she was currently reading, as she addressed Laura, who had stopped typing and was just staring at the computer screen. Carmilla smirked and let her gaze float over to the other girl for a fraction of a second. "When did you put it all together, Sherlock." The slightly smaller girl twisted around in her seat so she was now facing the vampire._

_"It took a while, but I noticed something was wrong when a black cat was showing up in my dreams and you were..." Laura paused for a moment, trying to think of the nicest way she could phrase it. "Well, let's just say you were more grumpy, and bitchy." She shook her head slightly and scrunched up her face, which elicited a slightly laugh from Carmilla. "When the girl stopped showing up, I knew it had something to do with the cat, somehow the cat kept the girl away." Laura was now fidgeting slightly in her seat as she spoke. "So, I did a little research, and some text's stated that vampires had the ability to shape shift." _

_Carmilla had managed to stay quiet as Laura explained how she had come to realize that Carmilla was giving up her sleep to make sure Laura got a goodnight's sleep. She had now placed her book on the bed, she sat up slightly and sighed softly. "Not all vampires do, just the one's that came to be the same way I did." She looked to Laura, she noticed the confusion for a brief second then the realization of what Carmilla's words meant. Carmilla shrugged slightly. "It's no big deal cupcake."_

_Laura stared at Carmilla for a while, how the other girl didn't think it was a big deal was confusing to her, it was a big deal, Carmilla was giving up her sleep just to make sure she didn't have an nightmares about Ell. "Why do you do it? And how do you do it? Can you always get inside my head, or is it only when I'm asleep? Can you only do it as a cat or if I think something now, will you be able to know what I'm thinking?" _

_Carmilla didn't say a word as Laura fired off question after question. She let out a small laugh and shook her head slightly. "I can't always get inside you head, I don't get inside your head." She noticed the way Laura was about to ask another question so she just held up her hand. "I don't get inside your head in the sense of being able to hear what you think or being able to probe around and find your deepest darkest secrets. As a cat, I'm able to get into your dreams, all I see is what you dream." Carmilla paused for a moment then sighed. "The last nightmare you had, I saw that, I wanted to see if I could actually get into your dreams._

_"It's not something I've indulged in before. As shocking as that might be, getting into someone else's dreams and altering them, that's something that I've never had to do before, nor have I ever wanted to, people dream what they do for a reason, the subconscious is more powerful that you humans give it credit for, you have a weird dream about something and tell others about it, but you never try and figure out the meaning behind the dream. All dreams have a meaning, they all have a purpose. _

_"As for the reason behind why I do it." Carmilla paused and looked Laura dead in the eyes. "Every other girl that has ever drempt of Ell, they've all been taken, all had that parasite put into them, they've all ended up where ever it is my Mother takes them to. I know stopping you from dreaming about Ell isn't necessarily going to stop my Mother wanting to take you, but I can try and figure out what the dreams mean." _

_Laura gasped slightly as she looked at Carmilla. "You don't change my dream's do you, you replace them, the nightmares meant for me, you see them, while I dream of a cute little black cat." Carmilla raised her eyebrow slightly at Laura. "Do you get to see her? Does she know it's you witnessing what it is she has to say?" Carmilla froze slightly, she had wondered herself if Ell knew it wasn't Laura she was talking to, but Carmilla. _

_"I don't know, if she know's it's me she hasn't acknowledged that. It wouldn't matter anyway if she did know it was me, one thing I've learn from witnessing your nightmares, is that it's not really Ell, it's just her entity, she's not really there. She's a projection. Ell is long dead, the girl in your nightmares resembles Ell, but it's not her." Carmilla shook her head slightly, when she had figured out that the girl in the dream's was - for lack of a better way to put it - wearing Ell, it had angered her and upset her. "Who ever is behind everything, be it my Mother, or some other horrible thing, they know to use Ell." _

_Carmilla hadn't noticed that while she was talking about the nightmares and Ell, that Laura had moved from the chair to sit beside her, she only noticed when she felt Laura's hand hesitantly be placed on her arm. Her eye's snapped to the hand on her arm for a moment before looking up at Laura's face. "Ell was your weakness." It wasn't a question, Laura knew that Ell was a weakness to Carmilla, but the vampire still nodded her head slightly. "Your Mother, she know's that you wanted to run away from her with Ell, her punishment for you was awful, but she's still continuing." _

_A frown took place on Carmilla's face as she contemplated the words Laura was saying, it hadn't occurred to her that it could have been her Mother's idea to use Ell as the spectrum, before she could voice any of this though, Laura continued. "Your Mother know's to use Ell, because she know's how deeply you cared for the girl. Entrapping you the way she did was just the first part of her 'punishment' she let you be buried after seeing her take Ell from you, she wanted you to think about how Ell had betrayed you, how she had hurt you. Now," Laura paused for a short moment. "Now she uses Ell, because she know's how much it hurt's you to know the girl you love wont even show herself to you, but she show's herself to random girls." _

_Carmilla balled her fist as she quickly stood up from the bed and stared down at a now very confused looking Laura. She paced in the space between her bed and Laura's, trying to stop the turmoil of emotion's coursing through her body. She didn't know whether to feel angry at her Mother for the use of Ell, or angry at Laura for pointing out that which she had been oblivious to. She didn't know whether to feel hurt or upset, or glad that she now knew it wasn't actually Ell ignoring her and refusing to let her see her, it was her Mother's plot, it was her Mother punishing her even further for her almost betrayal. _

_She didn't notice the look of terror on Laura's face, not at first, not when she was trapped in her own mind trying to sort through all the emotions. It wasn't still she had calmed herself down, uncurled her fingers and focused on the other girl, that she saw the scared look, that she noticed the way Laura had back right up against the wall, how her eyes were wide, her legs pulled up to her chest, her gaze never leaving Carmilla. Carmilla tried to pinpoint what it was she had done to scare the girl before her. _

_When she couldn't place what she had done, she slowly moved closer to her own bed, only to have Laura scurry to the end of the bed, staying close to the wall and never looking away from the vampire. Stopping in her track's she held her hand's up in a show that she wasn't going to hurt Laura, she tried to convey that she had no intention of ever hurting Laura. "Laura." The way her voice wavered slightly, caught Carmilla by surprise. _

_"You..." Laura shook her head slightly and slowly let her legs fall to lay flat on the bed, her back still against the wall so her feet dangled carelessly over the edge of the bed. "I've never seen you get that angry, not even when Kirsch and Will..." Laura trailed off slightly, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to stop the rapid beating of her heart against her chest. It wasn't Carmilla that had scared Laura, it was the look of anger on Carmilla's face, it was the way Carmilla moved so quickly from the bed, the way she had curled her hand into a fist. It was the way she growled while seemingly lost in her own thought's, the way she had let her fangs poke through as she stopped pacing and stood facing towards Laura. _

_Carmilla blinked slightly and then frowned, she noticed the way Laura was trying to clam herself down, but she knew that what ever it was she had done, was still scaring Laura, so she took a few steps away from where Laura sat. "You don't know what you did, do you?" Laura's voice was small as she spoke, but confidant, Carmilla just shook her head slightly. "I've never seen them before." Carmilla's head tilted slightly. "Your fangs, I've felt them, but never seen them." _

_Carmilla's brow furled as she ran her tongue over her canines, sure enough they were sharper and longer. She hadn't even noticed that they were showing while she had been trying to stop her own emotions, quickly she drew her fangs back in and sighed softly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Laura slowly got up off the bed, she was still wary of the fact that Carmilla had been very angry a moment ago, she slowly walked over to where Carmilla stood and looked at the face of the girl stood before her. _

_"You didn't, the way you reacted, the curled fist, the fangs, the growling, that scared me, but you didn't." Her voice was soft and smooth as she spoke, trying to show just how much she meant the words she was saying. "I'm not scared of you Carmilla, not anymore, sure I was when I thought you were kidnapping girls and when I thought you were going to eat me." She shook her head slightly. "But you don't scare me anymore, not now I know you, because I do, know you." She gave Carmilla a small smile. _

_Carmilla took in the girl stood in front of her, this tiny little human, who had barely began her life, who had been practically locked away in a castle, kept away from all the bad and scary things life had to offer. This girl who was no more than a child, who had just accepted all the scary and weird crap Silas U had to offer. Carmilla took in the way she was talking to her, with such sincerity in her voice. It surprised her how the girl that was stood there, could just accept everything, she could look past Carmilla being a vampire. _

_Carmilla didn't welcome the ghost of a flutter in her unbeating heart. She didn't welcome it at all, she wasn't unknown to the feeling, she just understood now that it didn't pay well for her to fall. The last time she had felt anything like she was now, was back in 1872, when she met Ell, when she defied her Mother, when she tried in vain to run away with Ell. The only difference she could see between the feeling then and now, was that she no longer had to hid a part of her, Laura knew what she was, yet she was still there, telling her that she wasn't scared of the vampire she was. _

_Ell had broken the shell of a heart that rested unbeating and cold in her chest, the look of horror and disgust on Ell's face had stayed with Carmilla in her long years trapped under the earth. Unwillingly Carmilla was giving the same power, to yet again shatter her heart, to Laura. She knew that Laura wouldn't leave because of what she was, but that didn't mean that she could trust Laura with something she hadn't trusted anyone with in 142 years. _

_The frown on Laura's face, reminded Carmilla that she had yet to say anything in regards to what Laura had said to her. Thought Carmilla wasn't entirely sure what it was she needed to say, words were scarce to her in that moment. Thankfully Laura took the lead, she gave a tight lipped smile then took a step away from Carmilla. "You've explained about how you get into my dreams, and why you do it, what you have let to explain, is how you change into a cat." _

_Carmilla laughed and shook her head softly, before taking a step back and sitting down on Laura's bed, automatically pulling the yellow pillow from it's place and holding it to her chest. "I don't have to say magic words if that's what you think." She smirked slightly then thought for a moment. "It's kinda like that witch from the British film you like so much." She tried to rack her brain for the name of the films, but they eluded her._

_Laura tilted her head slightly then took a seat next to Carmilla. "Harry Potter? You can change into a cat the same way McGonagall?" The look of shock on Laura's face wasn't lost to Carmilla, who just laughed and nodded slightly. Laura smiled softly then glanced to where her yellow pillow now was, she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Why do you like that so much?" She nodded to the pillow in Carmilla's arms then glanced to look at the girl beside her. _

_The quick change of topic surprised Carmilla, she glanced to the item in her possession, trying to think of something to respond with, anything but the truth. Anything but the reason she steals the pillow is because it smell's like Laura. Anything but telling Laura that she steals it because it's the closest she can get to actually holding the girl. Carmilla sighed and closed her eyes, throwing caution to the wind she spoke what she felt. "It smell's like you. It's comforting." _

_Carmilla never opened her eyes after speaking, so she never saw the dopey grin on Laura's face. She never saw the way the girl's eyes lit up at her confession, what she did notice though was the way Laura got closer to her, the way she rested her head gently on Carmilla's shoulder and threw her arm carelessly over the vampires waist, curing herself into Carmilla. Slowly Carmilla opened her eyes and looked down at the girl who had captured her heart and was now draped over her, like it was a natural occurrence between the two. _

_Hesitantly Carmilla wrapped her arms around Laura's shoulders, she smiled slightly at the way the other girl buried her head in the crook of her neck and shuffled slightly closer to Carmilla. "This is dangerous, cutie." Carmilla's voice was just above a whisper as she spoke, but Laura was close enough that the vampire was sure that the girl in her arms had heard what she said. By the way Laura's head turned slightly so she could look up at Carmilla, she knew that she had in fact heard. _

_"I don't care." Laura's voice was strong, and held so much emotion. "Let it be dangerous, isn't that what we do best? Deal with the danger of a situation and hope for the best outcome?" Laura lifted her head off of Carmilla's shoulder and looked at the girl, their faces were mere inches apart, it would take just a slight tilt of Carmilla's head for their lips to meet. Carmilla managed to stop herself from doing just that, though she wanted more than anything to know what it would feel like to have Laura's lips against hers. _

_Laura thought, took the lack of response as Carmilla wanting whatever was happening to stop. Laura didn't really understand why there was a sinking feeling in her stomach, or why she felt like crying her eyes out, or the tightness that had over come her chest, it wasn't like she had ever let Carmilla know that the feeling's were mutual, she knew about Carmilla's feeling's for her, the flirting and kindness showed her that, but she had never once let Carmilla know it wasn't just one-sided. _

_Just as Laura was about to get up completely, she felt the arm around her shoulders tighten just a little bit. "You're going to get hurt." Laura frowned slightly, anger suddenly flaring though her body, she was about to chew out Carmilla, the way she had Danny, over her not needing protecting all the time, she was a big girl. "I don't want to hurt you." The sudden anger faded just as quickly as it had appeared. Laura wasn't used to this side of Carmilla, the vulnerable side, the side that was still predominately human, even after the centuries of being a vampire._

_Laura did the only thing she knew, she sat up slowly, not moving away from Carmilla though, and looked at the girl. "That's how it works though, you'll hurt me, I'll hurt you, but we'll work through all of that." She gave Carmilla a small smile. "I like you Carmilla, and I know you like me, I was oblivious to the flirting comments before, but now I notice them."_

_Carmilla opened her mouth a few times then shook her head and closed her eyes. "I do like you, and that's the problem Laura." She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Laura. "I can't lose someone else I care about." She shook her head again and stared at the ceiling, wrapping her arms around the yellow pillow and holding it as close as she could to her chest. Laura watched the way Carmilla was acting and took in the words she had said, suddenly everything clicked in her mind. _

_"We're going to stop this, your Mother, Ell, whoever it is, we're going to stop them. You won't lose me that way and I won't allow your Mother to trap you in the earth again Carmilla." Laura's voice was rising as she spoke, she knew that she hated the Dean, but her hatred was growing more and more each day. "You've been having my nightmares, to try and figure things out right? Maybe it need's a fresh pair of eyes." Carmilla's eyes snapped to look at Laura. _

_"Let me have my nightmares tonight, let me talk to Ell, let me try and figure somethings out." When Carmilla opened her mouth to protest Laura continued quickly. "Stay here tonight, if I start doing anything that worries you, then wake me up, but please let me just try, if I don't get any information then you can keep trying and I'll keep dreaming of the black cat." _

_To say Carmilla hated the idea of Laura having to endure the nightmares and talk to Ell, was an understatement, when she had taken over having the nightmares, she had sworn to herself that she would never allow Laura to face them again. But the way the girl was asking her to let her, asking for permission to witness nightmares that was intended for her in the first place, Carmilla couldn't say no. "Fine. But the moment you start whimpering or mumbling in your sleep, I'm waking you up." _

_It wasn't ideal for Laura, she wanted the chance to actually talk to Ell, to try and understand why this was happening, who was behind it all, but she knew that this was as good as she was going to get, Carmilla was going to let her have her nightmares back, something she could see in Carmilla's eyes that the vampire didn't want to do. "Okay, the moment you feel I need waking up, wake me up, if I learn anything we'll write it down and see if it helps us in anyway." _

_Laura smiled then and lay back down next to Carmilla, returning to her previous position. Carmilla smiled softly at the girl who was again in her arms, she didn't really understand what all this meant, but she didn't care at that moment, not when she had Laura in her arms and there hadn't been any interruptions, which struck her as odd, normally when they were alone together, someone came bursting through their door. She tilted her head slightly to glare at the door, half expecting either LaFontaine, Perry or Danny to burst in any minute. _

_Laura laughed at the way Carmilla was glaring at the door, though it also struck her as odd that no one had burst through the thing, she was also glad that no one had. "Carm, no one's coming through that door." Carmilla slowly looked down at the other girl and gave her a grin. "For once things are on our side, for now anyway." Slowly Laura's eyes began to close, she knew that she was in for a restless sleep, but with Carmilla's arms around her, she felt safe. _

_Carmilla smiled till Laura's eyes closed, she was worried about the smaller girl, the nightmares weren't pleasant, they had even scared Carmilla at one point, she didn't want to let Laura endure the nightmares, but Laura had asked, and done so, so sweetly. Carmilla knew it was Laura's way of telling everyone that she didn't need protecting from everything, that she could face the danger head on, if people just believe in her to be able to hold her own. _

_So Carmilla had allowed it to happen, because she knew Laura could hold her own, she'd escaped the Library the first time, even if JP did help slightly, her and LaFontaine had managed to get away, and instead of being praised for making it out alive, Danny had yelled at her. The second trip to the library they were more prepared, yet it was Laura that threw herself at the flying books, while LaFontaine looked on the computers and found JP, Carmilla had helped Laura, but let the other girl hold her own. _

_Carmilla knew Laura could hold her own, she knew the girl could face the nightmares, but she still didn't like the idea of something horrible posing as Ell, and scaring Laura, it wasn't Carmilla's job to protect Laura, but it was her job to worry about her. Carmilla was bought out of her own thought's by Laura mumbling in her sleep, and burying her head into Carmilla's shoulder. _

_She allowed this to go on for a while, right up until Laura started wriggling around and shaking her head from side to side, that's where Carmilla put her foot down. "Laura. Laura wake up." She gently shook the other girl and watched as her eyes flew open, the panic evident. Laura looked around the room for a moment before letting her eyes settle on Carmilla. Before she realized what was happening, Laura had her arms wrapped tightly around Carmilla's neck and was holding her close to her. __"Hey, Laura." Carmilla very gently loosened Laura's arms and pulled back just enough to be able to look at Laura. _

_Laura took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, her heart was racing after the nightmare, but she tried to clam herself down enough to tell Carmilla what the nightmare had been about. "There was so much blood, and it was so dark, I could hardly move." She opened her eyes slowly and looked at Carmilla. "How did you... It was so small, and the smell, that awful awful smell. I never want to be like that, I never want to be put in one of those things." _

_Carmilla was confused for a moment as to what Laura was talking about, and she was about to ask her when Laura continued. "When I die, don't let them put me in a coffin, there so small and cramped, and I know I'll be dead, but I just..." Everything clicked for Carmilla and she realized that the nightmare Laura had, was of being trapped in a coffin of blood, like she herself had been. _

_"I won't let them put you in a coffin, cutie." She tried to give Laura a smile, but it came out more like a grimace. "Was that all you drempt about? Being trapped in a coffin of blood?" Carmilla hoped that was all she had to witness while asleep, but the small shake of Laura's head shattered that. She tilted her head slightly but didn't say anything, she'd let Laura tell her when she wanted to tell her. _

_"She was there, in the room filled with blood. She mentioned something about how this time there'll be no escape, no way out of the punishment." Her eyes flitted to Carmilla for a moment. "No way back to the day and earth once the Light take's what it requires." Laura all but whispered the last sentence, she knew what it meant the moment the words left Ell's lip's. _

_Carmilla sat staring ahead for a while, then she looked over at Laura. "I won't let that happen, you said so yourself, we'll figure this all out, we'll stop my Mother, Ell, and who ever else is out there." _Laura sighed softly and rested her head back on Carmilla's shoulder. "I know you don't want people to protect you, cutie, but I swear I won't let that happen. I won't lose you." __

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><p><strong>AN - So I did a little one shot for the web series Carmilla. I am in love with this web series, and of course Laura/Carmilla(Hollstein.) And the cast are amazing! They do a wonderful job of portraying the characters! **


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